The miner was near a conveyer at about 8:30 p.m. Thursday, perhaps making repairs on the machine, when the machine started, Thomas Light, district manager for the Mine Safety and Health Administration, said Saturday.

He was caught in the conveyor, a machine used to move cut coal, Light said.

“It appears that the machine was inadvertently started by remote control. We have not found out why he was there how it was started,” he said.

The man is hospitalized, Light said.

Light declined to identify the man and would not disclose the nature of his injuries.

A Consol spokeswoman declined immediate comment Saturday.

Federal regulators will conduct an investigation that will last at least several weeks, Light said. “We need to interview employees who might have seen this, check equipment. A lot will depend on when we can talk to him,” Light said.

The Enlow Fork mine is one of the largest mines in Pennsylvania.

This article was written by Channel 11’s news exchange partners at TribLIVE.